Inventor scoops Prince’s Trust award after being inspired by a colleague’s daily battle
with the English weather

It's the devilishly simple invention that ensures you’re not left high and dry during wet washing days.

And Malcolm Victory is pegging his hopes on his latest creation providing a nice little nest-egg.

The
Malvern, Worcestershire, designer’s ‘Rotaire Dryline’ is an ingenious waterproof cover for rotating washing lines. And those who scoffed at the 61-year-old’s gadget, those who sneered, ‘that’ll be the duvet!’, will have to eat their words. He’s already sold over 5,000.

The
dad-of-four has scooped a prestigious Prince’s Trust award for the environmentally friendly device – inspired by a colleague’s daily battle
with the unpredictable English weather.

“I
got to my early 50s and I’d never saved for a pension,” said Malcolm, who has stood as the Green Party’s Parliamentary candidate for West Worcestershire in the last three general elections. “So I realised I better pull something out of the bag.

“At
the office where I was working, a colleague would put her washing out to dry in the morning in sunny weather, but find it was soaked by the time she got home at 5pm because it had rained.

“And she would get really stressed by it.

“I
thought that is a problem which lots of people face, but could be solved with a cover of some sort. Then there are the energy savings in terms of not using tumble dryers or radiators to dry clothes.

“It all just came together in a eureka moment.”

Using his design skills, Malcolm created drawings for a prototype which he had manufactured in China.

“I
got 100 made and gave them to volunteers to test out for me. We had a virtual hurricane soon after and it turned out they were no use in high wind. There were flying out of people’s gardens all over Worcestershire.”

After an adjustment to the vents, the final product was ready a year later.

Now Malcolm, who filed for his first patent in 1982 – a user friendly bottle top, has sold more than 5,000.

And he is close to paying back the loans he needed to cover his initial costs.

He
added: “I’m not a millionaire yet but we’re getting to the point of a £100,000-a-year turnover. And I should pay-off the bank quite soon, so it’s looking good.

“I was pretty certain it would work, which is why I bet the house on it. My wife was sceptical at first, but now she loves them.”

This month Malcolm landed the Prince’s Trust, Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise and Sage One accounts Senior Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Rotaire Dryline.

The gong recognises businessmen aged 50 and over.

For more information on the washing line invention visit www.rotaire.com.